Welcome to the NBA, Mr. Edgecombe. We could get used to that.
The Sixers kicked off the 2025-26 regular season with a dramatic 117-116 win over the Boston Celtics Wednesday night.
VJ Edgecombe passed Allen
Iverson for most points scored by a rookie in his Sixer debut, finishing with 34 points on 13-of-26 shooting along with seven rebounds and three assists. Tyrese Maxey led all scorers with 40 points on 13-of-24 shooting.
Playing just 20 minutes, Joel Embiid had only four points and six rebounds going 1-of-9 from the floor. Derrick White and Jaylen Brown led the Celtics with 25 points apiece.
Here are some thoughts at the buzzer.
First Quarter
- Naturally, Edgecombe’s first field goal of his career was soaring down the lane for a dunk. His first attempt of the night was an ambitious attempt to posterize Neeimas Queta, but he didn’t get enough runway and had to settle for splitting the free throws. It took a couple tries to get his first three to go down but he swished one wide open from the corner after a nice bounce pass from Maxey. Suddenly he was rolling after an even bigger dunk and another three rolling in. Through his first quarter in the NBA, he led all scorers with 14.
- The most active Sixer in the early minutes was Dominick Barlow, who seems to be the early favorite for the fifth starting spot. He won them a couple extra possessions early as well as a chase-down block to erase a fast break.
- Embiid played only five minutes in the quarter and wasn’t able to get going in that time. It seemed like he was popping out towards the three-point line more but missed both of his attempts from behind the arc. The midrange he took trying to settle in was blocked by Xavier Tillman.
- Regardless of which center was on the floor for the Sixers, their defense wasn’t offering a ton in the way of paint protection. For as much as he was doing on the glass, Barlow struggled with the Jaylen Brown assignment. The Celtics as a team shot 50% from the field to start the game, good enough to give them a two-point lead at the end of the frame.
Second Quarter
- After a quieter start it was here that Maxey was able to start picking his spots and get aggressive. He also started the quarter off at the line and swung momentum briefly with a steal and a score. Embiid also got on the board with a contested jumper during this stretch, but on the whole he still liked like he was trying to get out of the starting blocks.
- It really seems like Edgecombe is already such an important part of what the Sixers want to do. He came swooping in to save a rebound that Maxey turned into another transition opportunity. The two of them were trying to get the ball down the floor as quickly as possible.
- Maxey did plenty of damage in the half court too, once he had gotten in a rhythm he was cooking. He was comfortably breaking down his defender off the dribble, finishing with 19 points in the quarter as the Sixers took a six-point lead into the half.
- Some quick rotation notes from the half: Adem Bona had the most minutes out of the centers being on the floor for just under 11 minutes. Andre Drummond did play the final two minutes of the half as Embiid seemed to be working in five minute shifts. Justin Edwards saw the floor but only for one defensive possession. For the most part it was a three-man bench of Bona, Jabari Walker and Quentin Grimes.
Third Quarter
- The Sixers weren’t able to come out of the half with that rhythm though as a 14-4 Boston run put them back in front. A charge called on Maxey and a loose ball foul on a tangled up Embiid halted the offense quite a bit. Despite a swift backdoor cut and a pull up jumper on the following possession by Edgecombe, the Sixers could not stop the momentum.
- The restriction loosened up as Embiid started the third with his longest shift so far, but it didn’t stop the Celtics’ run or get him into a groove. He wasn’t catching up to things well defensively, and was still clinging to the one made jumper from the second quarter.
- As a whole the team just flat out struggled to put the ball in the basket. For the longest time, White’s 13 points in the quarter had them out scored. There are a lot of forwards in the current rotation who have track records as below average to non-existent floor spacers. Once again it was Edgecombe providing some reprieve with another three and a nice lob from Kelly Oubre Jr., but the game had swung and the Sixers ended the quarter trailing by 11.
Fourth Quarter
- The chances of a comeback took a big blow as Maxey quickly picked up his fifth foul on what was fair to call a needless play. He did his best to make up for it though by knocking down a three on three straight possessions. He continued to get the most help from his rookie running mate in the backcourt. Edgecombe added another three and another blinding drive to the basket to get the Sixers right back in the game.
- Boston promptly called a timeout and that was enough to halt the Sixers’ momentum. With Embiid on the bench they went small with Barlow at the five and they paid for it defensively. The lineup was just too small to stop the Celtics from attacking them with Queta. The Sixers didn’t stop fighting on offense though and were able to hang around. Grimes, who had struggled all night, hit a big three and Barlow got himself another putback moments later.
- Despite the offensive lulls the Celtics didn’t ever seem to find an answer for Maxey. He had a crucial drive that resulted in free throws and also fouled out Queta. Oubre, who had also struggled all night, hit a three to give the Sixers their first lead since midway through the third. Grimes would get another chance at the line but split a pair to extend the lead to only two points. The Sixers came up with another big stop, secured by a jump ball won by Edgecombe.
- After Maxey made it a two possession game, Boston cut it right back to one thanks to an offensive rebound that led to a Payton Pritchard three. It came to Edgecombe two possessions in a row. He was perfect the first trip to the line but came up completely empty on the second, leaving it a one-point game with eight seconds remaining. The Sixers though were able to force not one but two good misses from Pritchard, securing the win.
- The Sixers will return to Philly ahead of their home opener Saturday night to take on the Charlotte Hornets.
